Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson claims he knows nothing about reports claiming Championship rivals Nottingham Forest submitted a January bid for Antoine Semenyo, speaking to the Bristol Post.
Now, at the risk of striking fear into the hearts of all Robins supporters, it’s fair to say this is something you better get used to.
Reports linking Semenyo with a move away from Ashton Gate emerged during the final few days of the January transfer window.
And as long as the jet-heeled 22-year-old continues to go from strength to strength, speculation over his future is only going to continue.
A shining light in another dark season for an underperforming Bristol City side, Semenyo has blossomed from budding whizzkid into a genuine match-winning talent at Championship level.
So much so that, when Nottingham Forest submitted deadline day bid, Steve Cooper’s upwardly-mobile side were told it would take up to £20 million to twist Bristol City’s arm (Post).
Not that Pearson was willing to give much away when asked about Semenyo’s future this weekend.
“Well, if they did (make a bid) I don’t know about it,” says the former Leicester and Derby boss. “I don’t think we had any intention of doing anything.
“If there were requests or bids put in, it’s something I didn’t know about on the day. But I’m not bothered. We’ve got no intention of him going so it’s okay.”
How long can Bristol City keep Antoine Semenyo?
The kids are alright at Bristol City. Alongside the explosive Semenyo, Han-Noah Massengo, Zak Vyner and 18-year-old midfielder Alex Scott have given these put-upon Robins fans something to cheer.
“I think we’ve said on many occasions (we want to keep our best players),” Pearson adds. “And you are aware of what our owners would like. That is to create a team with as many homegrown players as possible.
“We have no intention of putting them on the market. That’s not our intention at all. I’m not wet behind the ears so I don’t expect everyone to stay here indefinitely.
“There may be the necessity to sell one of our talented players at some point. But the intention is not to sell them.
“That’s all I can say categorically.”
Nottingham Forest also failed in their attempts to sign Jed Wallace from Millwall and Josh Bowler from Blackpool.
The two-time European champions, who followed up an FA Cup giant-killing of Arsenal with a 4-1 battering of Leicester City on Sunday, did strengthen Cooper’s hand by bringing in Richie Laryea, Sam Surridge, Steve Cook, Jonathan Panzo and the irrepressible Keinan Davis.
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